What Would You Do When Your Cell Phone Contract Expires

September 8th, 2014 David Siegel

Imagine how you would feel if your two-year cell phone contract expires today and you have no idea what to do. The carrier company begins to overwhelm you with promotions and offers. You’re tempted with an unlimited data plan but you feel undecided about making the tradeoffs that comes with it.

That said, if I look at my unlimited data plan, it is scary to give up my ability to use the phone’s unlimited data which comes without charge. Verizon and AT&T are worried that this could come back to haunt them. That’s why they are eliminating it gradually. Their customers are free to hold on to these generous plans, but the moment you accept their new offer. That’s it. The honeymoon is over.

It seems like many subscribers are unsure of what to make of this dilemma. Having found myself in this exact same situation, here are some of the things you may consider when your phone contract is up:

Tradeoffs
The major carriers make you pay more to keep their unlimited plans. And, while so many people are grateful for that opportunity, you cannot change your mind once you opt out.
Meanwhile, carriers such as Verizon are encouraging subscribers to trade places by removing subsidies on new phones. The cost implication is that you get to pay full retail price, which is triple, the price of what is previously obtainable.
New subscribers are then assigned 2 gigabytes of data per phone, which for me is more than enough. So what’s the problem? I’m probably greedy.

Now, the greed costs are at an all time high since I’m also shelling out $10 monthly for voice, text and data. Not only that, calls and texts are limited.

I’m paying a high price for fear and greed. The only advantage I see in all these is the backup plan I get when my broadband service is down and it saves me a lot of stress. As a writer I actually use up a lot of data, so that extra reliability helps a lot.

Swapping of carriers
Some carriers still offer the plain, simple unlimited plan. And with additional free data that you also get when traveling abroad from T-Mobile, it’s quite tempting. But one way to look at it is by deciding the right carrier based on where you use the phone. If your carrier has been reliable, switching is not a good idea.

Renewing the contract
For some people, it’s a very good idea to take wireless carriers up on their offer for you to pay full price, spread over several months under installment plans. You save up to $20 a month in subsidies for a top phone this way. By upgrading to a new phone from Verizon Wireless you will be better off with $600 instant discount upfront.

Another option is to pay the total cost at once and receive an open version that is very flexible and can be used with other carriers.

In all honesty, my take is to go after a subsidized phone. However, always upgrade on expiration, unless you’re ready to pay more at the end of the day and dupe yourself.